China Unicom Q3 profit up 27%

Major Chinese mobile carrier China Unicom (CHU.NYSE, 0762.HKG, 600050.SH) saw net profit rise 27% year-on-year to RMB2 billion (HK$2.48 billion) in the third quarter due to strong growth in its 3G network subscribers, South China Morning Post reported. The company said it gained 3.17 million 3G users in September, the largest monthly addition this year. To further grow its user base, it introduced a series of low-priced data packages in October to encourage 2G users to upgrade to 3G. China Unicom currently has more than 200 million subscribers, 30% of which are 3G users, compared a ratio of 10% for major rivals China Mobile (CHL.NYSE, 0941.HKG) and around 40% for China Telecom (CHA.NYSE, 0728.HKG). China Mobile, which holds the biggest share of China’s 1 billion mobile subscribers, saw a net profit increase of only 1.3% in the third quarter.